


If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On

by lately (aeggyu)



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Chef Woohyun, M/M, Musician Sunggyu, Past Lives, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-07 01:43:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8778151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeggyu/pseuds/lately
Summary: Woohyun and Sunggyu might have been lovers in a previous life, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be on this one.(Nam Woohyun and Kim Sunggyu somehow trigger their past lives to resurface and because their past lives didn't end with a happy ending, they'll try to find it in their current lives.)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darlingyu (whimsigyu)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsigyu/gifts).



> Originally this was going to follow a different plot and have way more Shakespeare references. And speaking of which, if you catch some please tell me.  
> Sorry this wasn't as Christmas-y! But I tried my best and I hope you like it.

Sunggyu takes the first train home.

The wagon swings with an almost lullaby-like rhythm, station after station. He sits near one of the doors and stares through the window, watching the brick walls become a blur every time the train gains speed. Sunggyu is still far from his apartment, sleep on his eyes feeling like dust settling on furniture that hasn’t been moved in a while. He lifts his shoulders and feels the soft, warm texture of the scarf Woohyun gave him along with his number in a napkin when his phone died after the night they spent together. Sunggyu remembers vaguely throwing the piece of paper away.

The only person in the same wagon as him is an old man, a factory worker perhaps, who’s slumped on his seat. He might be getting home too. A teen gets on in the next station. The world starts to wake up.

Sunggyu pretends to sleep.

 

\--

 

Sungyeol’s eyes are narrowed at him, but it’s too early in the morning and Sunggyu is too tired to care. Plus, it’s a Sunday.

“You’re amazing,” the boy says, shaking his head, “but at least the dude you took home last night was hot.”

Sunggyu thinks that the caterpillar he has for a roommate is doing a great job walking with so many blankets wrapped around him, so who’s the amazing one, he wonders.

“Was it fun though?” the younger man continues.

“It was alright,” Sunggyu says, voice hoarse and throat tight. He didn’t know how badly he needs water until now. “We went to his place after leaving you guys at the bar.”

“Of course,” Sungyeol scoffs. “And then?”

Sunggyu shrugs, kicking his shoes to the side. Incredible how awkward it feels to be questioned as soon as you enter through the main door of your apartment isn’t it. “Nothing special.”

Sungyeol rubs his eyes, thinking it’s probably too early to be dealing with Sunggyu (and he doesn’t blame the boy; it is.) “That’s… oddly anticlimactic.”

“Isn’t life always,” Sunggyu mumbles, dragging his feet to the kitchen. He’s starting to miss his bed, and the thought of having to shower first causes dread to settle on him.

“You are just _so_ enthusiastic this morning aren’t you.” His roommate follows after him, dragging his blankets with him. “So… last one of the year?”

Sunggyu nods. “Last one of the year.”

Sungyeol whistles. “Like I said, anticlimactic.”

Debating whether he should tell Sungyeol about what happened or not, Sunggyu shakes his head and closes his eyes. The more he thinks about Woohyun, the more unreal the whole encounter with him and its aftermath seems, so he decides to say nothing.

Woohyun…

How come he remembers the name so clearly?

—

The thing is, Sunggyu is not being completely sincere with Sungyeol. Last night, his roommate and he were having a good time at a bar near Dongwoo’s restaurant when a couple of guys approached their table. One of them was Woohyun, the man with black hair and a funny nose and an even funnier laugh.

Sunggyu had never gone home so quickly with someone he had just met. He didn’t want to sound too cliché, which is why he doesn’t tell Sungyeol (and probably never will), but he had felt like he had seen Woohyun before.

They stopped by a convenience store on their way to Woohyun’s apartment, and while Sunggyu waited on the cold outside, staring at the snow slowly piling up on the sidewalk, the sensation had only become stronger.

Woohyun exited the store with a small plastic bag and a pack of beer, and grabbed his hand. Sunggyu had felt something explode within him in a matter of seconds. Although perhaps an explosion hadn’t been the proper term; it was more like a quiet rumble, the thunder previous to a storm in the far distance.

A prelude.

The explosion happened much later, after they were done rolling in the sheets and Woohyun had fallen asleep with his back turned to him. Sunggyu sat at the edge of the bed and stared at his hands, trembling. A flash of something, he wasn’t sure what, crossed his mind for a brief second, leaving him breathless in a way much more different than Woohyun had done mere minutes ago.

He wasn’t sure if it was a hallucination or a product of the lack of sleep, but afterwards he felt his body very heavy, like his head was stuffed with cotton and his lungs, with stones. A faint smell of gasoline impregnated the air.

Sunggyu stumbled to the bathroom then, waking Woohyun up in the process. He was too busy emptying his stomach to notice the hands on his shoulder and the soft voice comforting him until he was done.

“Sorry,” Sunggyu said, grimacing at the aftertaste. Woohyun was ready for it, handing Sunggyu a mini plastic cup with mouthwash. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Woohyun’s smile was tired, but warm.

Sunggyu had a vague recollection of what happened after that, but one thing was clear: he had to go

—

A day later, Dongwoo calls Sunggyu right as he’s serving himself some breakfast. He asks Sunggyu to meet him at the restaurant before they open, but doesn’t reveal any other information than that.

At ten thirty am, two hours before Sunggyu has to give a class at a private school on the other side of the city, Sunggyu and Sungyeol arrive to the restaurant. They have to wait outside, hands in pockets and heads buried on their scarves. It’s cold, for the day. Sunggyu feels sorry for the kids at school. Neither of them speaks.

Dongwoo opens the door and smiles sheepishly at them. “Sorry for the wait, Woohyun and I got caught up with something and I lost track of time.”

“Woohyun?” Sunggyu asks before having the time to hide his astonishment. “He—he’s here?”

Sungyeol’s eyes widen a little. “Yah, don’t tell me he’s the new chef you hired.”

Dongwoo opens his mouth, and then smiles without commenting on it. “Come in,” he says instead.

Sunggyu narrows his eyes, but decides to do as told. They enter, feeling the warmth of the interior like a sudden and yet welcomed slap in the face. Sungyeol’s fake glasses fog.

“So what did you want me to come for?” Sunggyu turns to his friend as Sungyeol steps towards the small buffet section that is definitely not open or ready for him yet. (As if it will ever be.)

“I actually have a big favor to ask you. Is it okay if we talk in my office?” He doesn’t wait for Sunggyu to reply before he’s striding towards the kitchen. Sunggyu sighs and makes a motion towards Sungyeol, but is disregarded completely in favor of coconut-seasoned shrimp by the kilo. Friendship is a beautiful thing.

He follows Dongwoo through the kitchen, bowing to the people moving around in preparation for the first hours. He’s known his friend long enough to have pretty much all his employees’ names memorized, and to be fair, that’s a better accomplishment than being known as the tall guy who only comes to freeload (like Sungyeol).

His eyes catch a familiar face, but that’s not why he pauses slightly before moving forward. If only Dongwoo had told him Woohyun was going to be his choice for a seasonal chef, he would’ve thought twice before screwing him. He would’ve still done it, but he would’ve thought about it previously.

Choosing to save face in favor of explaining the reasons of acting like a freak that other day, Sunggyu bows to him too and moves on with quick steps, but it all seems pretty much useless considering Dongwoo is already waiting for him at the back of the kitchen, in the entrance of his office. By the way he’s leaning on the doorframe, Sunggyu can only assume he stopped to stare at Woohyun for more than he actually realized.

Dongwoo turns on the light as he steps in, closing the door shortly after Sunggyu enters.

“So, I actually need to ask you a big favor,” he says, playing with his fingers. “Remember the pianist I hired to play at the Christmas dinner? He came down with Bronchitis the other day.”

Sunggyu whistles. “Wow.”

“Yeah, he told me it was a highly sensitive issue so he didn’t want many people to find out,” Dongwoo adds. “And I was thinking ‘Ah, the dinner is less than a week away and everything is booked. I can’t find anyone to play live.’ Then I remembered I have a hyung who has the voice of an angel and plays the piano decently.”

Sunggyu raises an eyebrow. “Oh really, so why don’t you call him?”

Dongwoo has the audacity to look heartbroken. “Don’t be like this, you’re the only one who can help me.”

Sunggyu crosses his arms, leaning on the desk. “Did you even stop to think that I might have something to do on Christmas Eve?”

“You go back to Jeonju, go to church, see your family and you all eat breakfast together the next day. Hyung, you can miss a year. Your mom will understand.” Dongwoo sighs, and starts getting down to his knees. “I didn’t wanna do this but…”

Sunggyu’s eyes widen. “No, don’t even think about it.”

Too late; Dongwoo is already hooking his arms around Sunggyu’s leg and rubbing his face all over his pants. “Please, hyung!”

The only time Dongwoo has done this before happened back when they were in college and his laptop had exploded somehow, so he had to borrow Sunggyu’s to finish a report on time. The thing was, Sunggyu was in the middle of a café doing his own homework when Dongwoo started making a scene to ask him for the laptop. That night, neither of them had gotten a wink of sleep, one because of homework and the other because his mind liked to replay the look on strangers’ faces every time he closed his eyes.

Sunggyu stutters a quick succession of _yah!yah!yah!yah!_ ’s and hops towards the door (or at least tries to). “I’m going to open the door and your employees will see how childish you’re behaving!”

(Because one thing is two young men embarrassing themselves in front of strangers but another one is the boss of a pretty decent restaurant doing so in front of people who are supposed to respect him.)

But carrying the weight of a grown up is harder than it looks like, especially when you’re Kim Sunggyu, so Dongwoo pretty much stays rooted to his spot. “I promised live music! _Good_ live music! And all my tables are booked!”

Sunggyu groans, wondering why his friend has to be so dramatic. He was about to say yes from the start anyway. “Seriously, you don’t have to do this.”

“Just tell me that you’ll help me.”

“How much are we talking about?” Dongwoo pretty much sobs over his pants in response and Sunggyu feels his soul leave his body in exhaustion. “Come on, I’m a nice friend but I’m not _that_ nice.”

“Does it mean you agree?” Dongwoo looks up and wow, his eyes are actually watery. Sunggyu sighs. “Of course I’ll pay you, but please tell me if you can do it.”

“Yes, Dongwoo, I’ll play at your Christmas dinner.”

\--

Leaving his over-excited friend behind after that chat is not as difficult as escaping from Woohyun without being obvious. The latter is, after all, damn right impossible once the new chef catches sight of him and cleans his hands with a rag nearby, determined to follow.

“Sunggyu, wait!” The man calls as Sunggyu crosses the kitchen’s entrance.

He winces, glancing back. A couple of employees stare for a bit before moving on with their duties. Sunggyu catches Sungyeol dropping his plate with the person doing the dishes, who doesn’t look pleased at all.

Anyway.

Sunggyu turns to Woohyun, who catches up to him. “Listen, if it’s about the other night…”

Woohyun makes a sound in agreement. “It is.”

“I’m sorry, I guess I had more drinks than I should’ve had.” Sunggyu says, despite knowing it had nothing to do with alcohol. Like a good musician, he can hold his liquor pretty well. “I shouldn’t have rushed out of your place like that.”

“No, it’s okay. Actually, I understand,” Woohyun replies, playing with his hands. Unlike Dongwoo, however, his short, stubby fingers are tense and his knuckles, white. Like he’s holding back.

Sunggyu narrows his eyes. “You do?”

Woohyun nods. “I had a vision like that too.”

The world stops.

Or at least it seems like that to Sunggyu, who opens his mouth but otherwise remains frozen.

“W-what?”

Woohyun steps closer, and Sunggyu is not sure what’s stronger—the urge to step back or the sensation of being petrified.

“I felt something like that too, the first time I saw you,” Woohyun whispers, but it sounds clearer than everything else Sunggyu has heard before. “It felt like something cracking inside of me, and then it seemed like I had stepped in a place drenched in gasoline. I—”

“Stop.” Sunggyu finds his voice. “No, what you’re saying is impossible, it’s insane, it’s—”

“—the truth,” Woohyun finishes up. Sunggyu shakes his head.

“You’re nuts.”

Sunggyu turns around, ready to yell at Sungyeol to leave, but Woohyun places a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“I know how it sounds, but if it helps, I need you to come back to my place. There’s something I need to show you.” _Right, because that doesn’t sound creepy at all._ “Bring your friend too if you want to. Just—just come. It’s important.”

“I don’t know,” Sunggyu starts, but Woohyun looks away.

“I need to get back to work,” the chef says. “My shift ends at ten, if that helps. You remember the address?”

Sunggyu nods. “I’ll… think about it.”

He hates how hopeful Woohyun looks.

\--

At ten thirty four at night, Sunggyu stands in front of Woohyun’s apartment complex. He doesn’t take Sungyeol, of course, he’s not worried. Worst case scenario: Woohyun tries to kidnap him, or something, but Sunggyu is confident he can beat the guy enough to run away, even though Woohyun probably works out, and he knows how to handle knives, and Sunggyu didn’t actually tell his roommate where he was going…

Sunggyu shakes his head and presses the button of what he believes is Woohyun’s apartment bell.

“Yeah?” Woohyun voice comes out with a slight static noise in the background.

“It’s me,” Sunggyu replies, pretending his voice doesn’t shake.

“Really? Wait, the door is locked. I’ll be right down in a second.”

Sunggyu crosses his arms over his chest and sighs. He’s not even sure what drove him to come to Woohyun’s apartment after such a vague explanation, but he can’t deny Woohyun’s words intrigued him. Still, Kim Sunggyu, skeptic extraordinaire, isn’t thinking he’s going to get blown away by whatever Woohyun wants to show him.

(Here’s to hoping what Woohyun wants to show him so eagerly is below his belt because odd guy or not, he’s actually pretty good-looking and Sunggyu wants to end the year in a good note.)

Already wearing house clothes and cheap sandals with socks, Woohyun opens the door and lets him in. It’s not as warm inside as Sunggyu expected, but hopefully Woohyun’s apartment is a different thing.

“I seriously can’t believe you actually came,” Woohyun tells him as they ride the elevator. Funny, Sunggyu doesn’t remember other than shamelessly making out last time he was with Woohyun in the same box. “I was thinking maybe I could take the thing I’m going to show you to like, Dongwoo’s restaurant, but I need you to see where I got it from so you can believe me.”

Sunggyu lifts his eyebrows. “Do you usually talk this much?”

“Just when I’m nervous.”

 _Okay_ …

The elevator bell rings, saving them from further awkwardness, and they step forward into the hallway. Woohyun punches in his code and allows Sunggyu to enter first.

“Do you want anything to drink? I have beer, coffee, tap water and… I don’t know, a protein shake I think,” he says while they take off their shoes and Sunggyu unwraps his scarf (Woohyun’s scarf, actually,) and unbuttons his coat. Ah, yes, warmth.

“What kind of beer,” Sunggyu mumbles because he’s a simple man of simple tastes.

“The one from the six pack we brought home the other night. We didn’t finish it, remember?” Woohyun walks towards the living room, hands in pockets. Sunggyu prefers to pretend the warmth he’s feeling on his cheeks is due to the temperature change.

“Why don’t you show me what I came for,” he says, trying to remember the reason of his visit. “Wait. That came out wrong.”

Woohyun looks at him with a smug expression. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Shut up.” Sunggyu grunts. Why is he feeling so hot? Is the heater on?

“I’m just gonna pretend that didn’t happen.” Woohyun shakes his head, chucklinh. “Anyway, follow me to the bathroom.”

Sunggyu frowns, tilting his head. “I think you need to explain what’s going on first.”

“Bathroom first.” Woohyun grabs his head and, before Sunggyu has any time to protest, drags him into the room.

“This is going to be really weird.”

“You have no idea,” Woohyun replies. He motions the toilet and Sunggyu, too stunned to say anything, decides to go along with whatever Woohyun is trying to do and sits down. “Okay, a couple of days ago I was preparing for my interview at Dongwoo’s when I dropped my shaving cream. I was right here, see?” He stands in front of the sink and pretends he’s hitting something with his elbow. “The thing then rolled away until it hit the tile. When I bent down to pick it up I realized that one of the tiles was different. Actually—come here, look at it.”

He kneels right in front of the object of his observation and motions Sunggyu to do the same. When Sunggyu sits in front of the wall, he notices the dislodged tile.

“I realized it was hollow so I got a flashlight and discovered there was a box inside.” He stands up to get said flashlight from the drawers under the sink and comes back. Sunggyu uses that as his chance to speak.

“I think I’ve seen this in a French movie somewhere,” he says, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Woohyun sits next to him and shakes his head. “If you think I got the idea of drilling a hole behind a tile in the apartment where I’ve been living for less than five months just to spook you, I have some news.”

“That you have a lot of free time?” Sunggyu tries to joke because he’s not sure he likes where this is going.

Woohyun turns on the flashlight. “I wish.”

Without any other word, he pulls out a small box about the length of a DVD case and thickness of three of those stacked together. It has no words written on top of it, but there are some cute, albeit worn-out, stickers around the sides. The rust on the corners shows off the years.

Sunggyu shouldn’t be as enthralled as he is, but even he has to admit that finding a time capsule right in your apartment is pretty cool.

Or at least he thinks so, until Woohyun hands him a sepia picture.

Of the two of them, standing side-to-side and holding a flower bouquet together.

“That’s just one of the pictures. There are at least another two where they’re with their families, I think, and some letters. It’s pretty cool that even the envelope—”

“What the fuck?” Sunggyu blurts out, standing up as if the floor was on fire. “This is—you’re—How did you do this?”

He stares down at the man clutching the box, wearing such a hurt expression that Sunggyu is almost willing to believe him. But then Sunggyu thinks back to the time Woohyun approached him at Dongwoo’s restaurant and the time they spent together and he, he feels sick of the deceit.

“Actually don’t answer. I-I need to go,” he manages to say before he’s running out of the door with his coat in hand and boots unzipped, scarf left behind without telling Woohyun. He’s two blocks away when he realizes he’s still holding the photograph.

\--

Sunggyu starts avoiding Dongwoo’s restaurant for the next few days, even though Sungyeol looks at him questioningly and the lack of freebies start hurting his pocket because now they have to buy their own food, until it’s time to start preparing for the live show before the Christmas dinner.

He groans as he enters into the restaurant two hours after his last class, as the sunlight is replaced by the streetlamps outside and the place starts to fill up with customers waiting for some food after their nine to five jobs end.

Dongwoo doesn’t look too happy to see him, and that is something Sunggyu never thought he would see in this lifetime.

“Hello to you too,” he says to his friend after the owner of the restaurant stares at him for a good couple of minutes. Sunggyu licks his lips, “Um, I came to drop some things, and I wanted to see your speakers, but I guess you already know that,” he pauses, just to see if Dongwoo is listening, and realizes the man hasn’t moved an inch, “because you read my text, right?”

“You cost me a cook.” Dongwoo crosses his arms over his chest and suddenly it seems like he grew a couple of centimeters tall.

Sunggyu widens his eyes. He doesn’t need to ask. “W-what? He quit?”

Dongwoo guides him to a table, where they sit down in front of each other. “He didn’t,” the man explains, arms still crossed, and Sunggyu isn’t sure why he’s feeling so relieved, “but he’s been down these days and that’s worse than actually losing a person. His soul is not in the food he makes anymore.”

Ah yes, Dongwoo has an odd way of seeing people’s duties in life. If only reality was as poetic as he paints it, Sunggyu thinks.

“It’s not my fault.”

“But it is,” Dongwoo replies without losing a beat, and Sunggyu tries to remember if he’s ever been spoken to in such a disrespectful way by his younger friend. “Hyung, he told me everything.”

“And did he show you the pictures?” This time, it’s Sunggyu’s turn to cross his arms and lean back. “I wish I had those Photoshop skills. I could make myself some good ads to get more students.”

“He showed me the pictures and the letters too.” Dongwoo leans forward, his eyes bright with curiosity, full of conviction too. “I don’t think they’re doctored. I mean, did _you_ _read_ the letters?”

“A person can have a lot of imagination,” Sunggyu replies, barely avoiding laughing in incredulity.

Do ngwoo sighs, standing up. “You have no sense of adventure _or_ wonder.”

Sunggyu waves a hand, annoyed. “I’m just being realistic. Do you seriously believe him?”

“Whatever,” Dongwoo mumbles, and Sunggyu doesn’t think he’s ever heard the man sound so defeated before. “The speakers are in my office, go do whatever you have to with them and we’ll see each other in two days for soundcheck.”

“You leaving?”

“Ask the manager if you need anything.”

\--

Sunggyu finds Woohyun waiting for him at the entrance (or at least that’s what he thinks the cook is doing) after checking the speakers for a good half an hour.

Damn. _Is it too late to get out through the back door?_

“Dongwoo told me you were here before he left,” Woohyun explains as Sunggyu decides to suck it up and walk past him, and for some reason, he decides that whatever the young man has to say needs to be heard. “I just wanted to return this to you, since you left it at home the other day.”

He offers Sunggyu the scarf, and Sunggyu raises his eyebrows. “It’s your scarf, though.”

“Ah, that’s right. I totally forgot,” Woohyun replies, smiling unconsciously. Then, he adds, “I just finished my shift. Is it okay if I walk you to the station? I just wanna talk.”

He sounds far too hopeful for a man who was called crazy a couple of days ago. Sunggyu can almost see a dog tail waving behind him as he wraps the scarf around his neck.

And Sunggyu, unsure why, only manages to nod.

\--

They walk in silence for a couple of minutes before Woohyun sighs. Here it comes, Sunggyu thinks.

“I know you think it’s weird, but I swear I had never seen you before I found the pictures,” Woohyun says.

Hands in pockets, Sunggyu hums in response.

“Seriously, I didn’t think too much about it. I thought it was weird that one of the men looked like me, but coincidences like that exist, you know? And then, when I came to the interview, I saw you briefly. You were eating with your friend.”

“Sungyeol.”

Woohyun nods. “Do you remember?”

“No. I had never seen you before the night we went to your place.” He pauses, giving Woohyun time to think about what he’s going to say next. “So you did know me before,” he clears his throat, “the time we spent together?”

“Yes,” Woohyun confesses, “but listen—”

“And you sat there while we drank and talked like you had no idea who I was?” Sunggyu presses on, refusing to admit to the panicky edge of his voice.

“Well I mean, I didn’t know you personally.”

“But you just said…” Sunggyu trails off, wondering why his feelings are such mess for very unclear reasons with a guy he barely knows.

“After I saw you the day on my interview,” Woohyun continues with his story, “I was given the job and I walked out of the restaurant after signing. Then it hit me, like it happened to you. I had to throw up on the way home, luckily there was a trashcan.”

Sunggyu winces, remembering the sensation he went through that dreadful night at Woohyun’s apartment.

“And what did you see?” Sunggyu leans over as he asks, but then realizes what he’s doing and retreats. “I mean, in a hypothetical situation where I believe you’re telling the truth.”

Woohyun sighs, looking away. Sunggyu realizes they’re in front of the stairs down to the subway.

“I saw your face at first. It was brief, but I still recognized you. Then there was fire, like a flash or something, and before I realized, I couldn’t breathe, like I was inhaling smoke even though I was in the middle of the street.” Woohyun glances at him, an embarrassed smile adorning his face. “A couple of people stopped to stare and whisper. It was pretty embarrassing.”

Sunggyu watches as people walk up and down the stairs, individuals melting into faceless shapes who get lost amid the rush of the city. For the first time, Sunggyu doesn’t know how to react.

“There’s an address in one of the envelopes. I looked it up; it’s about three hours away from here by train. A small town in the middle of nowhere,” Woohyun goes on. Sunggyu closes his eyes.

“Don’t tell me you want to go.”

“I already got myself a ticket. Tomorrow morning. We can buy another one.”

“Woohyun,” Sunggyu says, rubbing his temples, “do you have an idea of how crazy what you’re suggesting sounds?”

Woohyun pulls out an envelope from his one of the pockets of his coat, a piece of paper worn down by the years. “At least read one of the letters. It’s not fake, I promise.”

Sunggyu stares at Woohyun’s hand, then looks up, and back down again. He grabs the envelope without a word. Woohyun seems to have taken it as a sign of acceptance, which is probably why Sunggyu has the feeling of the invisible tail wagging again.

“I’m leaving early in the morning since I have the day off tomorrow,” he says to Sunggyu, searching for something in his pocket. “Can I have your number?”

Sunggyu sighs, but gives in. At this point in the day he’s not sure what to believe anymore, but Dongwoo’s words echo on his head, so he follows along. Woohyun taps call and shortly after, Sunggyu feels his phone vibrate on his pocket.

He sees a twinkle of hope in Woohyun’s eyes and something inside Sunggyu twists. “So that you don’t lose it again.”

Sunggyu nods, about to say goodbye, before Woohyun leans in to press his lips against Sunggyu’s cheek, mumbling a ‘take care’ and losing himself in the crowds.

\--

The letter narrates tales of young love, childish and scared, a butterfly lifting its wings in a world full of fear. Sunggyu feels like stepping into forbidden territory, for invading someone’s privacy will ever feel wrong; it doesn’t matter if the person in question has been dead for a good sixty years.

In the letter, a nameless person describes the passing of the seasons to their lover, countryside matters, how much they miss each other. They sign as ‘your spring’ and, in the darkness of his room, as it starts to snow outside, Sunggyu thinks he’s never felt winter last so long.

\--

That night he dreams a strange thing.

He dreams of Woohyun’s lips on his skin again, the touch wet, the skin hot. At first he wonders if this is just a cruel reminder of the night he went to Woohyun’s apartment for the first time, but it feels different. He was never an affectionate person, but now he wants nothing more than to be wrapped by the man’s arms, returning fervent kisses.

He tries to remember where they are but all he feels is the weight of summer heat in his lungs—humid, stiffing, and Woohyun keeps running his mouth through Sunggyu’s neck.

Then, they’re sitting atop a bridge, staring at their reflections.

There is a lake.

Sunggyu wakes up, and he feels alone.

\--

The phone rings three times before Woohyun picks up.

“I dreamed of a place I’ve never seen before,” is what Sunggyu says. No hellos, no formalities.

The line goes dead for a few seconds. Then, Woohyun chuckles.

“Funny you mention that.” He sounds shaken.

“It’s so weird,” Sunggyu comments without much thought, staring at his alarm clock. He can hear Sungyeol watching something on his computer in the other room and tries to pretend he doesn’t want to be far from there. In Woohyun’s apartment. In Woohyun’s bed.

“How do I know it’s real?” he asks aloud, unsure of the recipient of his questions. “How do I know which emotions are mine and which ones are not?”

There is a sigh.

“I wish I could have an answer for that.”

\--

They have to take a train, then a bus, and then another train.

Finally, three hours later, they arrive to the small town in the middle of nowhere.

Sunggyu sends a text to his students, apologizing for missing class and promising to make it up someday, and another to Dongwoo to remind him of soundcheck tomorrow. While he does that, Woohyun asks a person nearby how to get to the address in the envelope.

“You’re going to need to ask some of the elders about that place,” the person says, pointing to the address in a map Woohyun purchased right as they got off the train. “The whole block burned down about sixty years ago, so they had to rebuild everything.”

When Woohyun turns to look at him, Sunggyu shivers under the weight of his stare.

They thank the man and start walking away, still unsure if they want to face the truth.

\--

It is a photo studio.

The place to which the address belongs is now a photo studio with small, discrete signs announcing promos and prices.

The bell rings when they enter.

“Hello, what can I get for you?” An old man comes out behind the counter, pushing aside a black curtain.

“Hi! Uh,” Woohyun starts. “I hope this doesn’t sound too weird, but we’re looking for a building that used to be here, but we’ve been informed the block burned down years ago?”

The man stares at him for a couple of seconds before he laughs, surprised. “Is this some kind of a fieldtrip? It’s not too often that two young men from Seoul come to visit asking for something so unusual.”

“I’m actually from Jeonju,” Sunggyu mumbles. Woohyun nudges him on the ribs.

“We found out a couple of—”

“Relatives,” Sunggyu supplies.

“Yeah, relatives, who were from here, and we found out about the fire.”

The old man nods, motioning them to follow him through an entrance covered by the curtain. “Yes, I remember. My dad took some pictures of the accident that were published in a newspaper. I think I have them somewhere.”

He points at a couple of stools that are probably used for photographs, so Sunggyu and Woohyun have no choice but to sit down. They remain in silence while the old man rummages through a bunch of photo albums and scrapbooks.

“Here it is,” the man says after a while, carrying an old album. He hands it in to Woohyun. “My dad’s studio used to be across the street, but then we sold the property to someone who turned it into a restaurant and moved into this place when it got rebuilt.”

“Did you ever find out what caused the fire?” Sunggyu asks, glancing at the newspaper article glued to the album in Woohyun’s hands. There are a couple of pictures of flames gobbling up the buildings, faded gray and yellow instead of black and white.

The man shakes his head. “It happened in the early morning. Many people passed away that day.”

“Our…relatives,” Woohyun mentions, pulling out one of the photographs that used to be in the tin box. He hands it to the old man. “Did you happen to know any of them?”

“I was very young, probably seven or eight years old,” the man says, staring at the picture. It’s not the flower bouquet one, so Sunggyu is at least glad for that. “I do remember there used to be a pair of great friends, almost like brothers, or at least that’s what they told me. My dad might have taken their, uh, _ceremonial_ pictures.”

“Did they pass away?” Sunggyu asks, trying to suppress the curiosity in his voice.

“I think one of them did, and the other moved to Seoul,” the man stops when he realizes the implications behind his words. He stares at them, and then looks back at the photograph. “Life works in odd ways, doesn’t it?”

\--

They end up eating in silence at the restaurant right across the street. Halfway through his second beer, however, Sunggyu decides to accept the truth.

“This is fucked up,” he says into his bottle, and Woohyun nods.

“Do you think it was like, destiny or something?” the younger man asks, pushing his empty plate aside. “I mean, I found the box, then we met, and now this. There’s really no doubt now, is there?”

Sunggyu shakes his head, and a burp escapes from him. “A week ago I would’ve laughed on your face.”

“And now?”

“If I laugh I’m gonna burp again,” he replies, and Woohyun snorts. “But I… I’m not sure anymore. I don’t know what to believe.”

Woohyun stands up to pay, but Sunggyu pushes his card onto his hands with the excuse that he’s older so it’s his treat. When he comes back, giving back the card and admitting they don’t accept other than cash with a sheepish smile, Sunggyu knows he started believing in this earlier than he thought.

\--

There aren’t many places for tourists in such a small town, but they go to the ones that matter.

Standing in front of the river of his dreams, as the cold wind blows, Sunggyu leans on the rail and takes in the view. Next to him, Woohyun comments something about the river being frozen.

“Do you think the reason we’re here is because they never got any closure?”

Woohyun hums. “What is that worries you?”

“Hey, I asked first.” Sunggyu frowns. His lips feel dry, chapped.

Woohyun shrugs. “The answer to your question is pretty obvious, so we should move on to mine.”

Sunggyu slaps Woohyun in the arm for his act of insolence. “You’re still not answering.”

“Sunggyu, I don’t think happy souls reincarnate just for the fun of it.” Woohyun rolls his eyes, avoiding another of Sunggyu’s smacks by mere millimeters. Then, he wraps an arm around Sunggyu’s shoulders. “Your turn.”

Narrowing his eyes, Sunggyu has no other option than to nod. “Haven’t you thought about it?”

“Now who’s the one answering with questions?”

“I’m being serious!” Sunggyu complains, sneaking a hand around the small of Woohyun’s back. “Don’t you think about it too? Am I supposed to like you because my previous self was in love with you or am I the one attracted to you?”

“You’re so…” Woohyun pauses, searching for the correct word, eyes fixated on Sunggyu’s face. “You’re _so_ the type of person to overthink this kind of stuff.”

Offended, Sunggyu scoffs. His breath comes out in a puff. “I’m just doing the most sensitive thing. Where’s my choice? Do I even have a choice?”

“It’s up to you what comes next,” Woohyun replies, looking straight at him. “It always has been.”

“But if we were soul mates in our previous lives…”

“Then we were, and we know that now.” Woohyun huffs, his nose and cheeks tinted red, caressed by the cold win. His lips are chapped as well. “We don’t have to be together just because of that.”

“But you wants us to be,” Sunggyu tries, gauging how accurate his assumption is by the way Woohyun blinks rapidly in response.

It takes a few seconds for the other man, now turning even redder, to recollect his thoughts. “All I know is that the other day I met a handsome guy who taught music for a living and took him home.” Woohyun says. “That he happened to look like the man in the photograph I found has nothing to do with me thinking he was cute with his eyes half closed after drinking and his lips a pretty pink after I kissed him.”

The guy has a way with words, Sunggyu has to give him that. “I am pretty handsome after all, aren’t I.”

The smile escaping from his lips betrays him, and he knows that Woohyun knows that.

“It makes up for your lack of modesty,” Woohyun replies, leaning over. And when their lips touch, Sunggyu confirms what he’s feeling.

For the way something inside his chest unravels, in the same manner that a music box stops and someone winds it up again, can belong to no one but the Kim Sunggyu of the present, the one who might be falling in love.

\--

Sunggyu gets up early for soundcheck at Dongwoo’s, but doesn’t forget to call his mom before leaving home. He needs to explain he’s taking his new boyfriend to meet his family on the 25th, after all.

By the time he arrives to the restaurant, however, it already looks like a hurricane of people is moving in tandem as the employees rush from one side to the other, setting everything up for the day even though the dinner won’t be until much later.

“We’re going to be full,” Dongwoo explains to him. “It’s gonna be chaotic, but fun.”

He’s not sure of what’s the definition of fun for the owner, and he’s not sure he wants to know, either.

After checking that everything is in order, Sunggyu leaves for his 12 pm class. He doesn’t see Woohyun, for the kitchen is a battle zone where he’s definitely not welcomed, but the reminder that they’re going to celebrate in their own way after the restaurant closes is enough consolation.

A little after five, Sunggyu comes back to the restaurant to prepare for his show, which is programmed to start at six. He still doesn’t see Woohyun.

After Dongwoo introduces him to the diners, overly exaggerating his achievements in life—not that Sunggyu minds—and wishing everyone a joyful evening, Sunggyu steps into the stage amid claps and cheers. When he’s about to start playing, however, he catches the sight of Woohyun blowing him a kiss from the kitchen before someone kicks him back in, and Sunggyu dedicates the first song, one of love and fate and living the present, to a couple of people who deserve a happy ending.


End file.
